Rekindle the Romance in Craft

Many impatient consumers dread assembling flat-pack furniture at home. However, furniture-making has always been a practical, gratifying, and some would even say therapeutic, hobby. This DIY Woodwork Kit for Furniture, “Do Kit Yourself”, contains pre-made furniture components, simple tools, and an instruction manual, which are everything one needs to make—with one’s own hands and at one’s own pace—a handwoven paper cord cypress wood stool. The kit is many things at once: it is a hobby or self-care kit, a piece of pre-made furniture, an educational experience, and even an invitation to a sustainable lifestyle.   

Pre-crafted by Artisans

While flat-pack furniture has long been associated with mass-produced, lower quality components, the Kit features a seat frame and stool legs that are made of Japanese cypress wood from sustainable forests and pre-made by artisans. Premium materials and craftsmanship ensure the end product will be long-lasting and beautiful. The consumer still needs to buff the components carefully with sand paper and put them together using the tools provided, followed by weaving the heavy-duty paper cord into the seat surface. First-time assemblers can be guided by printed and online video step-by-step instructions. Assemblers of all skill levels should be able to finish the stool with everything provided in the kit.

Life-changing Potential

From start to finish, on average an assembler will need ten hours to put a stool together. While in today’s fast-paced world this is an important investment in time, the end product of high quality materials and craftsmanship is designed to last a lifetime. Moreover, as the stool is made by the user, the user will take better care of it. Should the stool need any repairs, the simple design and DIY components make that easy. A piece of furniture, when recontextualised this way, is like a member of the household, and is something to be cherished and to be proud of, because it is made by someone who enjoys it. Amid the clamour of fast furniture and fast fashion, “Do Kit Yourself” encourages consumers to reflect on their relationship to consumer goods. It presents an opportunity to take time away from instant gratification, from both consumerism and the virtual world, and instead invest it in making useful and meaningful things that last. More than a satisfying pastime, the Kit contributes to a sustainable lifestyle as it changes the way we look at consumption.